Eureka-Redding rail is a pipe dream

Between 1999 and 2009 I worked for Caltrans Division of Rail as a contract manager. I learned many interesting things about transportation, and rail in particular. Would it be feasible to construct an east-west railroad line from Eureka to Redding? No. Well, why not? Just to construct a rail line would cost somewhere around $2 to $3 million per mile. Highways cost 10 times that. And that's if you already own the right-of-way, and it's flat all the way. Over mountains it costs much more, due to increased engineering costs, and extra work (bridges and tunnels, etc.). It's about 150 miles from Eureka to Redding, so that would be about $450 million, for starters. But most of the way to Redding isn't flat, and some of it is the opposite of flat. That would add about half a billion to the cost, which is why they didn't build the rail line that direction in the 1800s.

So it's hopeless right there. But first, you would have to acquire the right-of-way. All 12 Caltrans districts have their own right-of-way agents, plus headquarters has a whole division. I suggest the supes invite D-1 Director Fielder to send someone to talk to the board about it. Basically, every square inch of real estate in California is owned by some person or organization. Humboldt County does not have the ability to take land from people outside the county. When people find out some government agency wants to use part of their land, they raise the price, a lot. Ripping off the government is standard practice, especially among super-rich Republicans that own large parcels. No one buys land in the middle of nowhere so a railroad can be built across it. Today, landowners sue if anyone harms their property in any way. Also, part of the way would be through the Shasta-Trinity National Forest. That would require an act of Congress, which is exactly how the railroad from Sacramento to New York City got their right-of-way. With no one to bribe Congress, and no pressing national need for a new rail line there, there is little chance that the right-of-way through the park could ever be acquired. Even if all the right-of-way could be acquired, it would be unrealistic to think that the process could be completed in our lifetimes. The total cost would likely be in the billions of dollars.

Then there's the environmental. Ask Caltrans how long that takes. Hint: decades, for a project this big. Locomotives produce a lot of pollution. Get used to it. And trains make a lot of noise, like ground-shaking. Try to imagine the lawsuits from those impacted, plus the local self-appointed world-savers. Here also, it would be unrealistic to think the process could be completed in our lifetimes. And you'd better budget several million for it.

Meanwhile, we already have a rail line running north to south. The right-of-way already exists, minus what the Rail Authority has sold off, rumored to have paid for their own three martini lunches. Possibly the current owners of the balloon tract would sell it back. Existing rail lines are exempt from NEPA and CEQA. That's fifty feet to either side of the center of the tracks. Rust doesn't hurt rails. It is routine to replace deteriorated ties. Costs a lot, but every railroad does it all the time. Washed-out track along the river is not that big a deal. The rail line along the coast between San Luis Obispo and San Diego gets washed out every so many years. They repair it, and add material to preserve it.

Reality check: railroads have to haul something to make money. That's why the line wasn't repaired after the washout. All the stuff being hauled today is being hauled by trucks. The California Truckers Association would not take kindly to any serious competition, and they already have a team of lobbyists to make sure nothing cuts into their action.

No passenger trains make money. So, unless people decide they want to pay thousands for a train ticket to Redding, there's no viable business plan. Nevertheless, I feel we should work to restore the line between McKinleyville and Martinez. Have a nice day.